Rakesh Jhunjhunwala
Age: 54
Rank in the rich list: 51
Net Worth $1.86 billion: The big challenge faced in the last year Manoeuvreing volatile markets before the beginning of the current bull run
The way forward: Focus on philanthropy, particularly education and nutrition. Plans to put in Rs 1,000 crore in an educational institution. Considering setting up an institution to ensure more effective government spending
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has set himself two important targets. By the end of the year, the man people like to call India’s Warren Buffett wants to be 20 kilos lighter than what he was at his peak weight. The second target is more serious: Jhunjhunwala plans to give away Rs 5,000 crore or 25 percent of his total wealth, whichever is lower, to philanthropy when he turns 60 on July 5, 2020. And Jhunjhunwala’s track record would validate the achievability of both targets.
Consider how investors hang on to every word the 54-year-old Jhunjhunwala says about the markets and the economy. Company managements often come to him and make presentations so that he invests in them. But he confesses that he is not as smart as people make him out to be. “My failures are far less known than my successes,” says the billionaire investor during a nearly hour-and-a-half long chat with Forbes India in his 15th floor, sea-facing office at Nariman Point, once Mumbai’s only business district.
In his simple office, people pore over Excel sheets and trading charts, and, occasionally, some of them enter his cabin to show him a paper or two.
Inside, dressed in a plain white shirt (which costs Rs 800, he informs us), black trousers and a Titan watch, sits Jhunjhunwala, surrounded by some more trading terminals and a large collection of Ganesha statuettes adorning the shelves. On the walls hang two separate sets of “commandments”—for trading and investing—which he keeps distinct from each other.
The past year, with a major bull run on the stock markets, has been great for Jhunjhunwala, whose wealth has grown by a hefty 62 percent during the period, positioning him at number 51 in the 2014 Forbes India Rich List (against 61 in 2013). His three key holdings—Titan Company, Lupin and CRISIL—have also seen handsome gains. Not surprising then that Jhunjhunwala had not made a single trade, either in the cash market or in futures, on August 7, the day Forbes India met him. For now, he can afford to rest easy and allow his investments to work for him.
Transitory Investor
Jhunjhunwala isn’t taken in by the lofty analyses market-watchers put out. “When I hear people say it is a liquidity-driven market, I don’t understand all this English,” he points out. “Stocks go up as there is a paucity of sellers. Whether it is liquidity, whether it is fundamentals, what is fair value… has your grandfather given you the right to judge what fair value is? When people get left out, they say it’s a liquidity-driven market.”
(This story appears in the 16 October, 2014 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)
Wow! So simple and Noble personality of Mr. R. Jhunjhunwala. An inspiring investor.
on Mar 8, 2016Nice chap!! Grt advice n a humble man. Believe in india
on Nov 30, 2014its amazing sir, every country ,every family, every chield wants to like u
on Oct 29, 2014What a dynamic, brilliant & gifted investor of Rare Enterprises. Amazing article & Cheers to Rakesh J & best wishes to him, always. Moreover, at this age ( me not so young, now) , I too got inspired tremendously. His honest emphasis on his gut feel & passion & his devotion to trading & investment He must open his own institution, soon!. Hats off to Rakesh J & forbes.
on Oct 29, 2014sorry but RJ can never be buffett. he can never have a cult following. his style is more of a trader who uses not so fair means to enter and soon exit markets and accumulate wealth in the way...for example he buys some time back in a wide media coverage. soon he exits the stock and there is no media coverage. so those who followed him were left in lurch as the stock tumbles around 50% from those levels. Prakash industries and edelweiss though not deserted by him, saw similar fall in price.
on Oct 28, 2014